Stick Around
by SoManyPuns
Summary: "I just need to destroy this big machine real quick," he says, "before the space-time continuum collapses," What even, Fisk. he stops mid-turn and says "don't move." Holding out a hand as if the kid is going to try and follow him. Or leave. Or draw the attention of Fisk or one of his goons. Having a trainee is already stressful. Mary-Jane and Aunt May are going to kill him. Or:


Spiderman doesn't miss people. Spiderman doesn't miss anything, really, but people especially. Spiderman is all about people.

But sometimes Peter Parker is occupied with the thirteen-foot-tall former businessman who's working for the eight-foot-tall _current_ businessman to open up a potential black hole underneath Brooklyn. Because that's just how his week is going, sometimes they do.

So at first, Peter misses the kid. Which is really kind of surprising because his spider sense is humming away at the base of his skull _pay attention, pay attention, pay attention._

Again:

Norman

Kinpin

Black hole.

Very distracting.

When it really counts though, Peter _does_ catch him and that should count for something. The moment his fingers close around the edge of the boy's jacket, his spider-sense feels like its vibrating his entire skull. Peter doesn't waste time getting the kid down to the ground, he takes him high, out of the way of the fight, but high. Into Spiderman's territory.

_Bait? Ambush? Hostage? _ There are too many options, that's the weakness of his spider-sense, its all up to interpretation. Still, no matter what the truth is of the situation, its still a kid who nearly fell to their death.

Peter keeps himself in a crouch, far enough away that he's hopefully not going to register as a threat to someone in the middle of fight-or-flight mode. His spider sense is still humming loudly. What is it about this kid?

He's not a street kid, not from the clothes, neat, no rips, some stains, but he's a teenager, shoes are mostly clean. Laces untied.

"You do know your shoes are untied," he says, because the kid looks like he's about to realize that he almost fell to his death and Peter doesn't have the time for that right now. Now is the middle of a fight, now is time for answers, panic can happen later. It feels cold to think it, but there will be time for hugs and therapy later. As long as they both get out of this alive.

The kid nods faintly, still catching up.

Is that a new trend? Is Peter behind on the trends now? Is that his life?

"This is a onesie, so I don't' really have to worry about that," Peter says, conversation is normal, calm, casual conversation means there's no need to scream or try to run off the scaffold. _Funny _conversation from 'your friendly neighborhood spiderman' may be enough to calm him down.

_**Pay attention**_ His spider-sense all but screams.

And Peter does. Not to the kid's clothes, or his face, or the way he's holding himself, but to something else. Something not physical, something _familiar._

"I thought I was the only one." he dares to whisper. He realizes that might not make a ton of sense and says, "You're like me."

There are a hundred thousand thoughts in his head suddenly. Hopes, fears, questions, so many questions. Where had this kid come from? When had he been bitten? Did he have a family? Friends? Did they know? Did _Kingpin_ know?

"I don't' want to be," the kid says back, his eyes desperate as though Peter could take it all away from him.

"I don't think you have much choice kiddo." Peter wishes he could, if he had the choice, he wouldn't want a _kid _of all people to go through this. But he can't change the past, all he has is the future.

A _future_. Sitting before him is a future, a legacy. Another responsibility.

He's almost...excited for it. Finally, he's not alone, the first and last of a strange breed. Most importantly though, this kid isn't alone. Peter can be there for him, teach him, train him. Having someone who had already gone through the transformation would have meant the _world_ to him when he got his powers.

This boy isn't going to have to wonder if the bite will kill him or if he's going to suddenly sprout extra legs and start snacking on flies. Peter can tell him. Peter can show him how to unstick from things, how to throw webs, how to interpret the spider sense.

He snaps himself out of his thoughts. The future can wait. Here and now is what's important. "Got a lot going through your head I'm sure" He certainly did.

"Yeah," the kid replies, he still looks scared.

"You're gonna be okay," Peter tells him. He'd been so scared that he was going to die, alone in his room, Aunt May mourning uncle ben downstairs. He needs this kid to not have to go through that. Excitement and nerves tangle around his next words, "I can help you, if you stick around I can show you the ropes."

What is he going to do if the kid says no? He can't just let him wander around New York with spider powers, can he? If the kid says no _will he? _

But the boy is smiling, faintly, he's still surprised, probably edging into shock a little bit. He says "yeah," and Peter feels his heart soar. He has no plan, no inkling of what to do with a… sidekick? Protege? Trainee? But he has one now. He has one and he's going to teach him things and one day when he's ready he'll give him a mask and a suit of his own and he'll show him to the world.

The scaffold shudders and the black-hole interdimensional whatever machine is moving. Probably bad. He should probably deal with that first, spider-kid second. If a black hole opens up here, there will be no spider-training.

"I just need to destroy this big machine real quick," he says, "before the space-time continuum collapses," _What even, Fisk._ he stops mid-turn and says "don't move." Holding out a hand as if the kid is going to try and follow him. Or leave. Or draw the attention of Fisk or one of his goons.

Having a trainee is already stressful.

Mary-Jane and Aunt May are going to kill him.

He can't resist taking one glance back at the kid before he goes though. One more look at the future, sitting there staring at him wide-eyed with fear and maybe a touch of awe. "See you in a bit."


End file.
